by it and in her sleep she saw a serpent emerge from the rock. At the same time a voice said: "I am the Welieh [female saint] of the rock." Soon after, another person sleeping here had a similar dream, only instead of a serpent he saw a woman. The reputation of the rock as the home of a spirit was thus established, and the women of the neighbourhood began to invoke the aid of the saint and to show their devotion to her by kissing the rock, by anointing it with henna, and by burning incense before it. The parallel with the experience of Jacob is exact, except that the inhabitant of the rock is no longer called a god but a spirit or saint. In the Hebrew Scriptures we read that Joshua set up a stone under the oak which is in the sanctuary at Shechem and said: "This stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh which he has spoken among us, and it shall be a witness against you that you will not deny your God" (Joshua 24:26). It must be clear that if the stone hears all the words spoken it is animated by a spirit. Although here made a witness in the cause of Yahweh, this spirit must have been originally a divinity. So we must say of the stone which Jacob set up as a witness between himself and Laban (Gen. 31 : 45, 51). Owing to the combination of documents in this narrative, the stone is now supplemented by a heap of stones. One of the component documents made the single stone the witness; the other made it the heap of stones. This only shows that a divinity may inhabit a group of stones as well as a single stone. The circle of stones at Gilgal attributed to Joshua (Joshua 4:3 and 8) marked a sanctuary which is frequently mentioned in the history. There were images here also, as we read in one passage (Judges 3:19). In the book of Exodus a sanctuary is marked by twelve stones set up by Moses, and here the covenant with Yahweh is entered into (Ex. 24:4).

The single stone set up at an altar as the residence of the divinity was called a maççeba, and such a stone seems to 1 Jaussen, op. cit., p. 303.

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have been set up at every altar of Yahweh until the promulgation of Deuteronomy. The earliest decalogue, when it prohibits molten images, seems tacitly to recognise these primitive pillars as legitimate. Such upright stones are still found in Palestine, and more have been uncovered by excavation. There is nothing to show that these menhirs are specifically nomadic, but Arabic antiquity shows that the nomads shared the belief of their neighbours with regard to them, and the biblical evidence seems convincing. In connection with these monuments we should note that altars sometimes receive proper names as though identified with the divinity. Jacob called one El-God-of-Israel (Gen. 33:20), Moses named one Yahweh-my-banner (Ex. 17: 15), and Gideon had his Yahweh-Shalom (Judges 6:24). Since the earliest altars received the blood of the victim directly from the hand of the offerer, they, like the pillars, must have been identified with the divinity himself. Otherwise we must suppose that the names ascribed to the altars in the passages just cited were originally given to the attendant maççeboth. An altar named Ed, that is, Witness, existed beyond the Jordan to a comparatively late date (Joshua 22:34).

In one of the early accounts of the covenant entered into by Yahweh and Israel we find that the blood was sprinkled on the altar and on the people (Ex. 24: 6-8). The blood which unifies the parties should, of course, be applied to both, so that we have no doubt that the altar was identified with Yahweh himself. Possibly we should interpret the covenant between Jacob and Laban in this light. After the heap of stones was gathered, the two parties ate upon the heap. Yahweh was thus made, in the most realistic sense, a partaker of the food, and therefore a party to the covenant. Down to the present time it is the divinity localised

1 One at Maan is pictured by Jaussen, Mission Archéologique en Arabie (1909), p. 9; those uncovered by excavation at Megiddo and Gezer are reproduced by Vincent, Canaan d'après l'Exploration récente (1907); those at Tell es-Safi by Bliss and Macalister, Excavations in Palestine (1902), plate 9.

in some material object who is invoked in case of an oath; "If a person accused of crime dares to go to a sanctuary, lay his hand on the grave or pillar (of the saint) and swear that he has not committed the crime he is regarded as innocent. The saint punishes more severely than a human judge."1

If we may judge by the nomads of to-day, the early Israelites worshipped not the material objects but the spirits which dwelt in them. The giving of such a name as Bethel (House-of-God) to the stone would indicate this. The Arabs believe the desert to be inhabited by a class of spirits whom they call the Ginn. These appear frequently in the Arabian Nights. Such spirits, as a rule, have not attained the dignity of gods; that is, they do not receive a regular worship. But they must be conciliated on occasion; for example, when their territory is invaded. When the tent is pitched in a new place a sacrifice is offered to the local Ginnee, or a meal is cooked for him. Even in the towns when ground is broken for a new building, a foundation-sacrifice is offered to the genius loci; else he will avenge himself by sending calamity on the occupants of the house. This was the custom in ancient Palestine also, as the excavations have shown. When a new family is established by the marriage of a young man and young woman who set up their own tent, a sacrifice is offered, and they beg permission of the "master of the place" to occupy it with a new home. The tent-pole is smeared with the blood of the victim; and where the Bedawy adopts the agricultural life and builds a more permanent dwelling the blood is smeared on the lintel, as was the Israelite custom at Passover.

The local genius may rise to the dignity of patron divinity to a family or clan by revealing himself and thus showing his friendly interest. In this case an altar or pillar is erected and sacrifice is brought at fixed intervals. The revelation, however, may be hostile rather than friendly, intended at least to warn the recipient that he must pay due respect to Palestina-Jahrbuch (1911), p. 103.

the proprietor of the ground. Some stories which are now imbedded in the Hebrew text are evidently based on traditions of this kind. The biblical authors suppose in every such case that the divinity is Yahweh. But the original stories probably attributed the revelation to a purely local divinity. The mysterious stranger who wrestles with Jacob (now called an angel, Gen. 32:24-32) was originally such a local divinity. In this instance Jacob's strength and valour are such that he comes off victor and even wrests a blessing from the hostile power, though not without receiving a wound. The ghostly nature of the visitant is made evident by his anxiety to be allowed to go before daybreak, for the night demons, like the ghosts of popular superstition, cannot endure the light of the sun. This is further evidence that the original tradition was not recounted of Yahweh or of his angel, since neither the one nor the other had reason to shun the daylight.

The origin of this saga escapes us. It may have been intended to explain the place-name Penuel (Face-of-El), or it may have been an old myth representing the dangerous temper of the Jabbok. In either case it throws light upon early beliefs. The divinities were near to men, so that they could be seen face to face, but the encounter was not always to be desired.1 An even more striking illustration of the belief is found in the story of Moses and the circumcision of his son (Ex. 4: 24-26). In this we read that at one of the camping places in the desert the divinity attacked Moses and would have slain him. Zipporah was quick-witted enough to remember that circumcision blood is a powerful charm. She therefore circumcised her infant son and touched her husband with the blood, whereupon the hostile God left him. As in the other case, our text identifies the mysterious enemy with Yahweh. But he has none of the features of Israel's covenant God, and his attack upon the prophet is passing strange in view of the fact that

1A Phoenician locality, Face-of-God, mentioned by Strabo (Geog., XVI, ii, 15), is brought by Ewald into connection with Penuel.

Moses was a chosen instrument for the redemption of Israel. The only explanation is that a story of some local divinity has been adopted in the Yahweh tradition.1

In this connection we may notice further the fragment preserved in the book of Joshua (Joshua 5: 13–15), according to which Joshua at the invasion of the land met a strange apparition carrying a sword. The Israelite leader went boldly up to him and asked: "Art thou for us or for our enemies?" The reply was to the effect that the stranger was leader of the heavenly host, apparently coming to the help of Israel. The text, as we have it, only tells us that Joshua was commanded to put off his shoes in recognition of the sanctity of the place, and the thread is then abruptly broken. It is not too bold to suppose that this was a local saga, according to which the divinity of the place promised to help the Israelites in getting possession of the country on condition that they continue to honour him at this sanctuary.

These survivals are sufficient to show that the early Israelites worshipped a multitude of local divinities. Even very late authors complain that the desert demons (satyrs, se'irim) still receive the sacrifices (Lev. 17: 7), and we shall have occasion to note the tenacity of life shown by one of them, named Azazel. The question which will next suggest itself is whether the spirits of dead men were among the objects of worship. There is a growing consensus of opinion that the Hebrews, like all other peoples at a certain stage of thought, worshipped these spirits. We have already seen that among the natives of Syria at the present day the tombs of holy men are places of devotion, and that an oath taken in the name of a Wely is more binding than the one taken in the name of Allah. Not all deceased persons receive this honour; only men (sometimes women) who have been distinguished for sanctity during their lifetime. Like the wonder-worker Elisha the power of the saint continues after his death, and miracles are wrought at his grave. For this

1 Jewish tradition holds that circumcision is a prophylactic against the demons.